REAL PEOPLE, REAL ISSUES

May 28, 2008

Risking it All to Find Safety

JULIUS’S SHEER POWER is just unsettling. It starts with the
22-year-old’s evident beauty—the bright smile, the cherub-like
innocence of his round face, his smooth, dark skin and baby dreads—all
of which work alongside a sharp, speedy mind and a disarming charm to
concoct a potent, volatile brew. His physicality is unquestionably
male—he’s nearly six feet tall, with square shoulders and rounded if
unsculpted musculature that he shows off in tight shirts and tank tops.
But he wields his manhood in an overtly feminine way; where other guys
strut, Julius swishes. And this recasting of male form in female style
creates a gender play that’s more take-no-shit diva than nelly boy.
Julius is cut out for big things and knows as much. But there’s no
telling exactly what the nature of his large-scale acts will be on any
given day—he’s equally capable of stunning achievement and devastating
self-destruction. When I met Julius, he was one of a group of
transient queer youth crashing in a little white house at the northern
end of Crystal Street in Brooklyn’s rough-and-tumble East New York
neighborhood. He was confused about many things in his emotional life
at the time, but on one thing he was clear: he didn’t fit in. “I’m
always dressed up like, you can tell that child’s a faggot from a mile
away,” he sighs. “From the way I walk, you can just tell.” The
old, two-story fixer-upper on Crystal Street has a warm hominess that
mitigates the swirling chaos it often hosts. The living room and
kitchen are splashed with bright, bold, defiant colors—oranges,
yellows, reds—and a giant mural depicting an underwater wonderland
covers a long stretch of wall connecting the two big open spaces.
Beadwork designs of moons and seascapes cover the cabinets. The
bedrooms upstairs are cramped, sure, but also cozy. The basement’s been
converted into a comfortable but cluttered office, its walls lined with
books and posters bearing the slogans of social change movements. SOURCE:COLORLINES

Comments

Risking it All to Find Safety

JULIUS’S SHEER POWER is just unsettling. It starts with the
22-year-old’s evident beauty—the bright smile, the cherub-like
innocence of his round face, his smooth, dark skin and baby dreads—all
of which work alongside a sharp, speedy mind and a disarming charm to
concoct a potent, volatile brew. His physicality is unquestionably
male—he’s nearly six feet tall, with square shoulders and rounded if
unsculpted musculature that he shows off in tight shirts and tank tops.
But he wields his manhood in an overtly feminine way; where other guys
strut, Julius swishes. And this recasting of male form in female style
creates a gender play that’s more take-no-shit diva than nelly boy.
Julius is cut out for big things and knows as much. But there’s no
telling exactly what the nature of his large-scale acts will be on any
given day—he’s equally capable of stunning achievement and devastating
self-destruction. When I met Julius, he was one of a group of
transient queer youth crashing in a little white house at the northern
end of Crystal Street in Brooklyn’s rough-and-tumble East New York
neighborhood. He was confused about many things in his emotional life
at the time, but on one thing he was clear: he didn’t fit in. “I’m
always dressed up like, you can tell that child’s a faggot from a mile
away,” he sighs. “From the way I walk, you can just tell.” The
old, two-story fixer-upper on Crystal Street has a warm hominess that
mitigates the swirling chaos it often hosts. The living room and
kitchen are splashed with bright, bold, defiant colors—oranges,
yellows, reds—and a giant mural depicting an underwater wonderland
covers a long stretch of wall connecting the two big open spaces.
Beadwork designs of moons and seascapes cover the cabinets. The
bedrooms upstairs are cramped, sure, but also cozy. The basement’s been
converted into a comfortable but cluttered office, its walls lined with
books and posters bearing the slogans of social change movements. SOURCE:COLORLINES

September 2012

Comments Policy

The opinions expressed on the blog are the personal opinions of the posted respective blogger(s), and in no way reflect the opinions of KIRO blogspot and its affiliate social networks.

Comments Policy

Comments are welcomed and encouraged on this site, but there are some instances where comments will be edited or deleted as follows: Comments deemed to be spam or questionable spam will be deleted. Including a link to relevant content is permitted, but comments should be relevant to the post topic. Comments including profanity will be deleted. Comments containing language or concepts that could be deemed offensive will be deleted.
Comments that attack a person individually will be deleted.
The owner of this blog reserves the right to edit or delete any comments submitted to this blog without notice. This comment policy is subject to change at anytime.